Violent Christian game riles critics

Sex and violence are the bread and butter of the video game industry. But a new game aimed at Christian teens is banking on blockbuster status by replacing the sex with prayer -- while keeping the violence.

Players can either join the Christians and kill nonbelievers, or join the demonic forces and smite Christians, in "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," a video game due out this fall as part of the wildly popular "Left Behind" franchise of novels.

"Eternal Forces" is the latest effort by Tyndale House Publishers to profit from the "Left Behind" novels, a series about the apocalypse that its authors claim has won over converts to Christianity.... The game purports to teach Christian values while allowing players to kill in the name of either Christianity or the Antichrist.

The article continues:

The game's most vocal opponent is conservative Christian lawyer Jack Thompson... [who] published his book, "Out of Harm's Way" (Tyndale, $19.99), last November. He has since severed ties with Tyndale because of "Eternal Forces."

He said Tyndale, in backing the game, has "personally broken my heart." He accused the company of abandoning morality by exploiting a "cash cow" in the "Left Behind" series, and said co-author LaHaye "ought to be ashamed of himself."

"We've got a company that's really prostituting the name `Christian' and using it as a sales tool to market to Christian kids that which is harmful by any other name," Thompson said.

Jack Thompson joins me Tuesday at 7:05AM ET with details.

Political Cortex has more...
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